As the world celebrates International Women’s Day, we bring you the story of a 46 year old woman who has been making a living from the sales of firewood. Madam Sampana Demzooya tried to give education to her children but was unsuccessful due to poverty.
At 24 years of age, Demzooya Sampana got married to a farmer at Nangodi in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region. She tried supporting her husband to raise a family by joining her mates at the forest to cut fire wood for sale. Madam Sampana has been doing this activity for a living for 26 years now. Neither she nor her husband had stepped foot into the classroom but agreed to come together to raise a family. This reporter visited her one early morning at her house to have a chat with her but she had already left to the forest to look for fire wood. The meeting was for rescheduled for another time where she agreed to share her story with him.
“It’s been over 20 years since I started selling firewood to fend for my children. I started this after my first child. I realized that there was no where I could get money for medical bills and going to the grinding mill. So I went into it. I used to buy just a bowl of maize from the market from the sale of firewood. Life was not easy after marriage. I didn’t go to school. My husband too the same. We had no source of income. So gathering firewood and selling was the only option. That’s what I have been doing.” Demzooya narrated.
Madam Demzooya further indicated that, she has six children with the husband: two girls and four boys. Both girls are married but one of them lost the husband when she was five months pregnant. She told the reporter how she wished she could give her children some level of education but due to poverty none of them has gone beyond primary 5 in school. One of the boys’ went into small scale mining during the lockdown period in 2020 and has since refused to go back to school. She regretted that she never had the opportunity to go to school. She used the opportunity to call on parents to invest in their children’s education if they can. She also appealed to government to support her set up a business so that she could stop selling firewood and be free from its attendant problems.
“At that time, it was difficult for us. We had no money to buy books, uniform or pay for anything for the children’s education. I have suffered a lot in this. I have been beaten by rain, attacked by scorpions and even vehicles splashing water from the road on me anytime I’m returning home. Looking at my appearance, you can tell that, I am not sick. It is poverty. If I get assistance, I would be very happy. It will also help my children.” She recounted amidst regret.
As early as 4:00am, Demzooya would set off into the Nangodi forest with a cutlass. She makes bunches of firewood from dead trees and shrubs, carries it on the head and sets back to the market to sell and that could fetch her between GHc12.00 and GHc16.00 for the day.
Story by Peter Agengre.
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